Is this the Time to Sell?

Some housing experts are concerned that the housing recovery seems to be stalling. Some are blaming the one percent increase in mortgage interest rates since the first quarter of last year. Others are pointing at an economy that is improving but only at a snail’s pace. Still, others are questioning whether homeownership is even considered by some to still be part of the American Dream.

However, there is great evidence that the true reason home sales aren’t stronger is because we lack inventory in the vast majority of markets across the country.

 

 

Here are a few reasons why we believe this to be true:

Buyers Are Searching the Internet for Homes in Record Numbers

Trulia, a major online residential real estate site for home buyers that lists properties for sale, recently reported that it is experiencing record levels of traffic as the spring buying season kicks into high gear. The site reached a record number of unique visitors in April with nearly 50 million.

Buyers Are Physically Out Shopping

The number of potential home buyers physically looking at homes is increasing. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) measures this each month in a data point they call “foot traffic”. Foot traffic measures the number of homes being shown by agents. That number has increased for each of the last three months and has doubled over that period of time.

Inventory Levels are BELOW Historic Norms

History shows us that a balanced real estate market requires a six month supply of available housing inventory. We have not reached that mark in over two years. Though inventory numbers are improving, the recent increase in buyers now looking will again put a strain on this number.

Bottom Line

While inventory levels remain below historic norms, it will remain a seller’s market. This being the case, if you are considering selling your home, now may be the time to list it for sale.

Courtesy: Keeping Current Matters

Good news for Home Buyers! Mortgage Rates Fall!

After the Federal Reserve announced this week that its $85 billion per month bond-buying program will remain, mortgage rates dived.

 

The program had helped keep mortgage rates low, but fears mounted this summer that the Fed would begin winding it down. This caused mortgage rates to move up, increasing borrowing costs for home buyers and slowing the recovery of the housing  market.

 

The Fed’s decision has reinforced its commitment to holding short-term interest rates near zero through next year and into 2015. The Fed noted that employment is improving, and is optimistic about the “growing underlying strength in the broader economy.”

 

Here are Freddie Mac's reports of mortgage rates for the week ending Oct. 31: 

 

Type of Mortgage	Today’s Rate 10/31/13	Last Week 10/24/13	October 2012
30-Year Fixed	4.10%	4.13%	3.39%
15-Year Fixed	3.20%	3.24%	2.70%
5-Year ARM	2.96%	3.00%	2.74%
1-Year ARM	2.64%	2.60%	2.58%

The Fed's decision should help sustain low mortgage rates in the near future, says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

 

That's good news for home buyers and sellers!

 

Courtesy: Realtor Magazine

 

Looking for a home? Check out all homes for sale in Columbia and Lexington at www.homesincolumbiasc.net

 

Want to know what your home is worth? Call me at 803-348-9922 or email me at vsashikant@gmail.com.

 

For... all Real Estate matters!

 

 

Home Buying – the Money Part

At the outset, let me say that I am not a loan officer or a mortgage specialist. I am a Realtor, and as such, I come across buyers who are bewildered by the money part of buying a home.

 

Terms like closing costs, down payment and earnest money fly around them, and they are totally foxed. Not to be gender-biased, but 50% of buyers (you know who I am talking about) just nod knowledgably, I might add, when talk veers around to financing the home. Then, after that show of familiarity and proficiency, it’s too late to ask what these terms actually mean.

 

So… here in a nutshell are terms, meanings and where they all fit in.

 

Term	How much	Type	When	What is it
Earnest Money	$500 - $2,000 depending on the price of the home	Personal Check (unless property is a foreclosed one)	Paid while writing an offer. The check is deposited when the offer becomes a contract	It shows you are serious about buying the property
Down Payment	·        $0 for VA & USDA loans ·        3 – 3.5% of sale price for FHA loans ·        5 – 20% for conventional loans	Certified check	At closing	Your ‘skin’ in the purchase. Deducted from the sale price. The amount depends on the type of loan.
Closing Costs	Depends on type of loan. Maybe 2 – 5% of sales price.	Certified check	At closing	Costs of getting the loan, title search and attorney fees. Can also include VA and other fees.
Mortgage	The actual amount of the loan (sale price minus down payment)	Your bank sends certified funds to seller	At closing	The amount you owe on the house.
PITI	-	Personal check	Every month	Principal, interest, tax and insurance that you pay your mortgage company

 

#columbiahomes

Check out all homes for sale in Columbia and Lexington at www.homesincolumbiasc.net

Boomerang Buyers: The Newest Group of Home Buyers to Hit the Market

According to reports, “boomerang buyers” are the latest new buyer group to emerge. These are former homeowners who had gone through a short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy in the past few years and are now ready to buy a home.

So, how soon can they buy a home?

Past homeowners who had FHA loans may need to wait only three years provided they can prove that a hardship, such as job loss or death of a wage earner, led to their foreclosure or short sale.

Freddie Mac’s wait time is usually four years following a short sale or deed-in-lieu, and seven years after a foreclosure. Fannie Mae may require a seven-year wait for a foreclosure, but only a two-year wait following a short sale as long as the borrower can provide a 20 percent down payment.

Most lenders required buyers to wait 5 – 7 years to qualify for another loan, but mortgage giants have begun to change their rules to allow homeowners who underwent a foreclosure or short sale to qualify sooner. For those who underwent a short sale, it may be sooner.

Question is why would homeowners with such past histories want to buy again?

General conception is that renting a home is akin to throwing money away, and with a more stable economy, pride of homeownership has raised its head again.

But the 3 most important reasons cited are:

• Rents are on the rise
• Interest rates are on the rise
• Home prices are on the rise

Boomerang buyers are coming. Most have saved up for a down payment and qualified to purchase a home again. The hardest hit areas of 2008 – 2010 will see the most. That includes South Carolina.

Which is good news indeed!

Source: Realtor Magazine, July 2013

Knee-jerk Reaction by Home Mortgage Interest Rates

With the Fed’s announcement last week that there may be a tapering of its bond purchase program sooner than later, stock market indices reacted by dipping by a few hundred points. A stock that I had bought with careful thought also took a dive! As an aside, the minute I buy a stock (a meager 100 shares), its price will go down!

With the Fed's announcement, home mortgage interest rates jumped up. This was to be expected – interest rates had been ridiculously low at around 3.5% for over a year. According to Freddie Mac, interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages took ‘its biggest leap in 26 years’ from 3.93 percent last week to 4.46 percent!

"Higher mortgage rates may dampen some housing market activity but the effect will be muted by the high level of buyer affordability, and home sales should remain strong,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. 

I don’t see how there can be a higher level of affordability. For the same monthly payment of principal and interest, home buyers will now afford a slightly smaller home (or lower priced home). But what will happen is that home buyers who were vacillating will be galvanized into action with the fear that interest rates may go up further.

 

With all the knee-jerking that’s going on, we might as well be watching the cancan at the Moulin Rouge!